since 1996

FAQS

Are we correct in thinking that you have one or two questions about floor sanding and finishing services in Harrow HA2? We get asked quite a few every day, so you’re not alone! Here are some of the more popular ones, but feel free to contact us if yours are not listed and we’ll of course do all we can to answer them.

HOW LONG CAN I EXPECT MY ROOM TO BE OUT OF ACTION?
​A room of average size, i.e. one measuring about 12 feet by 10 feet, will take one day to sand down and a further day to apply the finish. Before replacing the furniture or being able to walk on it safely you’ll need to allow another two or three days for the finish to cure properly.

Bear in mind also that although the initial repairs and sanding normally take a day, if the repairs are unusually extensive a bit more time may need to be added to this. But you’ll be apprised of all such considerations before the work even starts.

CAN GAP-FILLING BE LEFT OUT?

Some customers say that they want to retain a ‘rustic’ look to their floor by leaving gaps between the boards. The trouble with this is that not only will the boards creak and groan – perhaps a desired effect – but heat will escape through draughts set up between these gaps and the airbricks in the exterior walls of the property. ​

By all means leave the gaps there if you must, but we always recommend that they be filled in using our range of advanced, eco-friendly silicon and resin products. Your heating bill will thank you for it! These are superior to general-purpose materials, which are liable to crumble quite quickly and fall into the sub-floor spaces.

CAN I DO THE SANDING MYSELF WITH A HIRED MACHINE?

The obvious answer is ‘Yes, of course’, but our recommendation is a resounding ‘No!’ Hire machines are usually not maintained very well because they’re always out and about and their older designs mean that they won’t retain most of the dust as ours do.

We use the best equipment on the market and maintain it to impeccable standards. They say a workman is only as good as his tools, and that’s the case here as well. Leave it to the HA1 Harrow wood floor sanding experts to do a professional job on your floor, rather than botch it up in an ill-advised attempt to save a few quid! Whilst we have no doubt about your enthusiasm, we do have serious reservations about the quality of the hire machinery you may be forced to use! It’s also, incidentally, very hard and skilled work – not something to be done on a spare afternoon, no matter how good at DIY you are.

I HAVE ASTHMA - WILL HARD FLOORS MAKE THIS WORSE?

​Actually, it could possibly help to alleviate your condition! The common dust mite is behind a variety of allergic reactions including asthma. This microscopic monster thrives and reproduces in fitted carpets and when you take these up you’re removing its natural habitat, like spraying oil on a mosquito-infested swamp. The best thing you can do in the home for allergy sufferers is to rip the carpets out and have your floorboards renovated. You can then lay down attractive rugs which can conveniently be washed at regular intervals to destroy any mites that have had the bare-faced cheek to try and move back in.

WILL MY NEW FLOOR LAST FOREVER?

​We’ve actually been asked this and the answer is of course that nothing lasts forever! It will inevitably start to lose its shine, and the rate at which this happens will depend mainly on the amount of traffic it has to put up with. If you have a newly sanded and finished kitchen floor in a busy family home with a couple of dogs you can expect two or three good years’ service from it. You can, though, considerably extend the life of a new floor by looking after it a bit.

We usually recommend that every couple of years, or when you notice that the shine is starting to go, you have it buffed and polished. The buffing is necessary to make the polish adhere properly. Look after your floor and it will look after you, so contact us at the Harrow wood floor sanding and restoration experts for advice about this and any other matters and we’ll be happy to help.